Devotionals

While we are certainly not called to seek out persecution, there is also a sense in which we should expect people to make fun of us or even beat and kill us when we faithfully proclaim the gospel. As in ...Read More

Though Jesus was a man of sorrows, He was able to endure suffering and pain because He knew that “out of the anguish of his soul” He would “see and be satisfied” (Isa. 53:11). We will never have to go ...Read More

God’s sparing of Epaphroditus’ life was a tangible expression of His abundant grace to Paul. Not only did He save the former Pharisee, but He also gave Paul extra gifts to help the Apostle bear his sorrows. The Lord does ...Read More

Do you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ as one of His sheep, or are you counted among the goats who serve another master? If you trust in Jesus alone, then you can be sure that He will receive you ...Read More

Since God is absolutely sovereign over all and works all things according to His purposes (Eph. 1:11), we understand that every instance of suffering results from His calling upon us. This is true even when we do not know why ...Read More

At the outset of our look at suffering, we must realize that Scripture does not give us all the reasons for our pain in this life. In fact, we may never understand why we suffer the way we do on ...Read More

If we are surprised when persecution comes, then we will find it more difficult to endure it and experience the grace of God in our suffering. Yet as we remember that both belief and suffering are granted to us by ...Read More

We do not earn our place in heaven through the consistent endurance of persecution and harassment. Rather, such endurance proves that we have the faith that can alone lay hold of the benefits of salvation, for “the one who endures ...Read More

One evidence that we are truly in Christ is that we make His glory, and therefore the glory of the triune God, our chief end in life. As we pursue His glory and seek to lovingly obey Him in all ...Read More

Our suffering for the sake of Jesus is actually an occasion for great joy, not for the pain in itself but because it is at our weakest points that God decides to show Himself the strongest. As we consider those ...Read More